


A Thanksgiving Reunion

by Humphreywrites



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Reunion, Thanksgiving, canon-divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24393502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Humphreywrites/pseuds/Humphreywrites
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	A Thanksgiving Reunion

“Please fasten your seat belts as we make our arrival in Washington DC, where the weather is…”

She could barely breathe. Her knuckles were white as she clutched the seat rest and closed her eyes. She hated landings. As the plane makes its descent, her stomach rolls and all she can think about is him.

“Mom?” Her five year old, Emily questions with a worried expression.

She opens her eyes, and gives her a tight smile. “I am okay,” she promises, trying to sound convincing. Emily nods, but her hazel eyes search hers as if she doesn’t believe her. Her daughter was perceptive, and had a tendency to read her like a book. She gives her hand a small squeeze as the plane jerks from landing.

Her mother is there to meet them at the gate, smiling widely with open arms, that Emily runs into. “Grandma! I missed you.”

“You too, Emily.” She says, as her eyes find hers. “Dana,” she clips.

“Hi, mom.”

At least, her mother is being civil, she thinks, tiredly. Emily grabs her grandmothers hand as they head for the car. The sound of Emily chattering is a welcome distraction. She isn’t listening, but stares out the passenger window, completely lost in thought. It’s overwhelming to be back to a place she’d put in her rearview mirror years ago.

“Dana?”

She snaps out of her reverie. Her mother looks at her, “I said that I ran into your old partner at the grocery store the other day. Oh, what was his name….”

Her stomach drops. “Fox. Fox Mulder.” She’s trying to keep a straight face as her mother continues to say that she’d also invited him for Thanksgiving, if he was available. Thanksgiving was a open door invitation at the Scully household, but this was the last thing she’d expected to hear.

She’s rendered speechless and can’t believe what she’d just heard. “You invited Fox Mulder for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes,” she says. Her brows are furrowed in confusion. “Is that going to be a problem?”

She swallows. Yes, it is. “No,” she lies. Her voice sounds foreign in her ears. If she knows anything about Fox, it’s that he would graciously accept the invitation but not show up. But then again, it’s been six years. He could have changed.

She had.

“Dana, he’s a very handsome man,” her mother continues, as if she’s planning on setting her up. She knows. She remembers. “He was very curious as to what you’ve been up to.” Of course he was, she’d left six years ago without telling him.

“What did you tell him?” Her mother had a habit of saying more than she should.

“Just that your here for the holiday and that he should reach out. I gave him your number, but he told me that you probably still have his.” Balls in her court, she guesses, already having it memorized.

She pales, and rolls down the window. If Emily weren’t in the back seat, she’d probably open the door and try to jump out. Coming home was already becoming a remarkably bad idea.

Her mothers house is exactly the same, which is oddly comforting. Once inside, she’s engulfed by her sister. “I am so glad your home. It’s been too long.”

“Missy, I saw you at Mathews birthday San Diego,” she laughs, and pulls away.

“Em, you’ve grown a foot.”

“No I haven’t Auntie,” Emily retorts, folding her arms, looking exactly like her. “Only a few inches.”

“It’s like arguing with a mini you,” Melissa chuckles.

She can’t disagree. Physically, Emily resembles her, but her eyes and brown hair is all him. She still has his number, and knows she should call him. The conversation is long overdue. She’s run as long as possible. She’s tired, and frankly, he deserves to know. Emily has been asking questions lately, and she’d been avoiding it by changing the subject.

That night, she can’t sleep. Emily, on the other hand, has no problem. She’s soundly snoring next to her. She gently eases herself off the bed, and throws her robe over her. Careful, she opens the door and goes downstairs. Her mind is racing as she finds the phone.

She stares at it, knowing that if she dials the number, she’s re-opening a lot of old emotional wounds.

Finally finding the courage, she dials. He picks up on the first ring. “Mulder,” he greets. For a second, she forgets to breathe. “Um, hi, it’s me.” She can hear a pin drop. Her heart is beating out of her chest as he says, “Scully?” No one had called her that in years. A nickname reserved only from him. “I haven’t been Scully in years,” she pauses for a beat, “I mean, I’m still Scully but usually just Dana…” she trails off, feeling awkward as hell. She can swear he’s smiling, “So Scully, it’s been a while.”  
“It has,” she agrees, and looks at the clock. It’s just past two, “I see you still don’t sleep.”

He laughs, “Nope. Still an insomniac.”

“I was hoping to catch your machine…”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I didn’t think you’d call to be honest.”

“I didn’t either,” she admits, curling the phone cord around her finger. “I do think we should catch up.”

“Are you free now?” He says in a tone she doesn’t recognize. “I mean, we’re both awake.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah, why not. I mean I still have the same apartment. We can have a beer and watch the sun rise over the Potomac.”

“Mulder, it’s two am,” she points out. “On a Tuesday no less.”

He laughs, “Typical Scully, always shooting down my ideas…”

She’d forgotten how easy their banter was. How much she missed it. How much she’d missed the sound of his voice. How much she’d missed him.

“If your around tomorrow, I can spare time for a coffee or something.”

“Does noon work? We can go to Java Sun.”

“That’s still there?”

“Of course, best cappuccino in DC.”

“Noon then. I’ll meet you there.”

“Great,” he says, and he pauses. “But before you go, can I ask you something?”

No. No. No. “Sure,” she hesitates.

“Where did you go? I tried to look you up, but I couldn’t find you.” She’d been unlisted, and asked AD Skinner not to tell him.

Okay, easy enough. “San Diego.”

“Oh, I just wondered.”

“My brother was out there,” she offers by way of explanation.

“I see. Anyways, I will see you tomorrow at noon. I’ll be the one in the suit,” he jokes.

She laughs, “I wouldn’t have guessed that. Night, Mulder.”

“Night, Scully.”

She hangs up the phone, and shakes her head, wondering what the hell shes getting herself into.

Noon. That was only 8 hours away. As she padded upstairs, careful to avoid the creeks and cracks of the stairway, she couldn’t help but replay their conversation. Their next one, was definitely not going to end as nicely. She could feel it in her bones.

She’d gotten there early, and had already ordered a coffee as he walked in. Her eyes found his immediately, as she tried to best to be carefully normal. If it were possible, he looked even better than she remembered. He was still the same tall, lanky man, except he’d filled out his suit a little more. He probably added weight lifting to his running regime.

She knew he was giving her the once over, “Scully, if it’s remotely possible, you’ve gotten even hotter.”

She blushes, “You’re not so bad yourself, Mulder.”

He grins, as he takes the seat opposite her. She slides a hot mug towards him. “I hope you still take your coffee the same…”

“I do,” he says, “So, your in DC.”

“I am.” She says, taking a sip of her too hot coffee, and it burns her throat. “I know we have a lot to catch-up on…”

“Like for instance, why I had to find out from Skinner that you’d quit.”

Oh, that. He’s already spitting questions at her. It’s funny how he can go from flirtatious to interrogator in the blink of an eye. “Mulder, it’s complicated.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Why because we were sleeping together?” Right to the point then.

“I saw you kissing a dark haired woman outside of your apartment.”

He looks as if she’d electrocuted him. Then his eyes widen in realization. “Diana?” She raises an eyebrow. After all these years she finally has a name to that mystery woman. “She was my ex-girlfriend. Fuck, Scully, you thought…” he trails of knowing exactly what she thought. “I pushed her off me. Trust me, I did not reciprocate that kiss.”

“Oh,” was all she could think to say. Her brain suddenly had a hard time recalling words.

“I had actually told her to leave because you were coming over. But you never did…” his voice softens with regret.

No, she hadn’t. She’d gone home and cried. If she’d only tried to talk to him instead of running, maybe her life would look a little different. Maybe. She shakes the thought of her head.

“I have to tell you something,” she takes a breath, steeling herself, “about two months after I left, I found out I was pregnant.”

“You were pregnant?”

She nods, and bites her lip, “Yes. We have a five year old, and her name is Emily.”

His eyes widen, and she has no idea what he’s thinking. “Can you repeat that, because I think you just said we have a five year old.”

“We have a five year old,” she says again, and reaches into her pocket and pulls out a image. It’s Emily’s kindergarten picture, her hair is in pigtails, and she’s smiling widely for the camera. “She has your eyes, hair color and stubbornness,” she adds with a tentative smile.

He’s looking at the image, carefully studying it, probably committing it to memory. “She’s beautiful, Scully.” His tone is soft, and eyes unreadable. It’s suddenly very awkward between them, something shifted, and all she sees is the hurt etched on his features. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

There it is. A question she’d been avoiding since the stick turned pink. She could have called, should have called, and definitely tried to call. She had called only to chicken out once she heard his voice saying to leave a message. She was only twenty-eight, wide eyed and ready to take on the world with him. She hadn’t expected to fall in love, and that terrified her more than chasing cryptids in New Jersey. “I’m sorry I didn’t.” It’s her turn to apologize now.

“It’s a little late for an apology, Scully. You kept this from me, not even giving me a choice of whether or not I wanted to be involved.” Or with raise her with you, he didn’t add. His eyes darken, “I thought you trusted me but clearly, our partnership was one sided.”

“Mulder…” she sighs wearily as he gets up. His hands are literally shaking in anger.

“I can’t even look at you,” he seethes. She winces at the emotional blow. “I have to get back to work.”

He leaves, quickly, and she puts her face in her hands. How the fuck do I fix this?

The answer, she knows, is that she can’t. She can only hope they can go forward.

She knows he’s pissed, and rightfully so, but she wishes it didn’t hurt as much as it did. Even she had a hard time reconciling herself with this part of her past. She had kept Emily from him, and it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

She had mulled over their entire conversation as she drove him. Her tears were evident, and as soon as she cut the engine, she wiped them away with her sweater. Emily came rushing outside just as she made it to the walk way. She crashes against her, and she holds her close. She can even smell the baby shampoo when she kisses the top of her head.

“Hi mom,” Emily greets, pulling away. “Uncle Charlie just got here and I already kicked his butt at basketball.”

She laughs. “I bet you did.” She looks down at her little tomboy and suddenly it’s like all she sees is a mini Mulder. She’s in a baseball jersey, wearing a hat backwards. Her red leggings have sweat stains, and her new sneakers are already scuffed at the toe. “Mom?”

She hadn’t realized Emily had been trying to her attention. “I asked if you wanted to play with me later?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked if you wanted to play basketball with me later.”

“After dinner, Em,” she promises, and Emily takes her hand, leading her back into the house.

Her brother Charlie has always been her mothers favorite, like she had been her fathers. It was entertaining to see her mother fawn all over him, like she did when he was a baby. She understood now, Em was her baby.

“Dana, where have you been?”

She hadn’t told her mother where she was going, and had borrowed her fathers old car. “I needed some air, mom.”

“So, you just left…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. It’s not like you see Em all the time.”

“It’s not my fault you life three thousand miles away in San Diego. For the life of me, I don’t think I’ll ever understand that choice.”

“You don’t have to it’s my life,” she counters, and leaves the room. She has no energy to argue with her mother. She heads upstairs and Emily follows her into the guest room. She sits on the edge of the bed, and Emily climbs up. “Mom, are you okay?”

“No,” she says, finally. It was easy to admit to Emily, they had always been close. It was just them against the world. “But I will be… I had coffee with your father today.”

Her eyes widen, “My dad? He lives here? Can I meet him?”

“Yeah, he does. We used to work together a long time ago… You want to meet him?”

“Of course, mom,” she smiles. “I have a dad.”

“I can call him.” If he’ll answer, she thinks knowing that he would be screening his calls for the time being.

“Do you think he’ll like me?”

The question breaks her heart. “Emily he will love you.”

Her hazel eyes sparkle, and gives her hand a quick reassuring squeeze. Now, she has to set her own feelings aside for the time being, and call him. A lump forms in her throat. She hopes he’ll say yes. He has to.

It’s late, and everyone is sleeping when she pads down stairs and into the kitchen. She grabs the cordless, and heads outside. She can’t breathe in that house and she’s on edge which isn’t helping. She dials the familiar number and he picks up on the first ring. “Scully, I really don’t want to talk to you.”

She sighs, “Mulder, I’m calling for Emily. I told her about you, and she really wants to meet you. I didn’t make any promises, but I did tell her I’d ask.”

Radio silence, she hopes he’s not going to disappoint her. “She wants to meet me?”

“Yes, she wants to meet you. She is curious about you, and peppered me with questions all day. Things that only you could answer like, what’s your favorite Baseball team?”

“Yankees.” She smiles, progress. “Of course I want to meet her, Scully.”

“We’re leaving the day after Thanksgiving, so what’s your schedule?”

“Can you do tomorrow? I have it off.”

“Tomorrow, sure. How about Breakfast?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Linda’s?” Linda’s diner was the epitome of a throwback, and she could already smell the pancakes.

“Should we shoot for 9 AM?”

“Yes, that’s fine. We will meet you there.”

“Hey, Scully?”

“Yes, Mulder?”

“When’s her birthday?”

“November 29th, she was a week early.” He’s quiet, probably doing the math.

“It was our first case, wasn’t it?” Her mind goes back to the night they spent together, and how he’d touched her back with such reverence. Her silence is all the confirmation he needs. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow,” she says, and hangs up.

Tomorrow had become today all too soon. She woke up the sound of her alarm, and almost pushes Emily off the bed in the process of trying to shut it off. “Mom, five more minutes.”

“No, we got to get going. We are meeting your dad for breakfast.” She grins and gets out of bed, faster than she’s ever seen her move in the morning.

They get down stairs, and it’s quiet, so she writes a note that they’ll be back soon. She grabs the keys, as Emily puts on her jacket. She does the same, and checks her reflection in the mirror. She looks tired, but thank god for foundation.

“Mom, lets go.”

Linda’s was like stepping into a time capsule. The black and white tile on the floor, and the red vinyls booths were exactly the aroma of pancakes engulfed her. Exactly like she remembers, she thinks, as she sees him already seated at a booth. She offers a small wave, and takes Emily’s hand in hers. Mostly for her own benefit, she thinks, as he grins. “Hi, I’m Emily,” she says sliding into the booth. Five year olds are pretty direct. He stares at Emily, and looks at her, then back again at Emily as if he truly cannot believe it. “I’m Mulder,” he greets, finally with smile. “Oh, your mom told me you have a birthday coming up, and I got you something.” “Mulder, you didn’t have to do that…” she begins before he cuts her off.

“I know, but I’ve missed five,” he says it sadly, but hands her a box, he definitely wrapped himself. She beams and accepts it readily. “My birthday isn’t for another week and two days.”

“November 29th,” he says, as she pulls at the paper. “I know, it’s my new favorite date.”

She laughs, as she finally opens the box. She pulls out the first item: his old baseball glove. It’s buttery soft, and well loved. Christ, Mulder, she thinks, as her eyes water. “It was mine, as a kid, and…”

“I love it,” she says, smiling. “This is cooler than the one I have at home.”

“There’s something else in there too.”

She shifts the tissue around and pulls out a Yankee jersey. It still has tags on it, and it looks a little big but the look on Emily’s face is worth it. “I asked mom yesterday what your favorite team was…”

“I know. Then she asked me, and I hope you like them too.”

“New favorite team,” she declares, and slips the shirt over her long sleeved white one. It’s baggy, but she makes it work over her sweat pants.

A waitress comes and takes their order, and conversation begins again, with Emily asking him questions and telling him everything she can think of. It’s adorable to watch, and she can’t help but feel guilty that she had deprived him of experiencing it too.

“Mom, I have to go to bathroom.”

“Oh, it’s down there,” she points, “second door.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Emily says as she gets up to let her out.

“She’s awesome, Scully,” he says as she sits down. “I tend to agree on most days, but if you wake her up before 7, she’s a absolute bear.”

He laughs, and looks at her. “You’ve done a good job with her.”

It’s the highest compliment, and she grins. “Thank you,” she says sincerely. “She’s a pretty easy kid.”

“Such a tomboy too.”

“I know,” she laughs. “She’d rather be out in the dirt with the boys, than playing dress up. I was like that too, always out there with my brothers.”

“The backward baseball hat kills me.”

“She insists on wearing that thing at all times. I’ve tried to wash it, but she hides it.”

“That’s hilarious.”

“Thank you for giving her the glove and shirt, I know she loves them.”

“I owe her,” he says, pointedly. “I know this is soon to bring up, but I’d like to be involved in her life…”

Her breath hitches, and she’s about to respond, when Emily rejoins them. “So, did I miss anything?”

They shake their heads, and she’s saved by a stack of hot pancakes placed in front of her.

“Mom, can I go?”

“Go where,” she asks confused chewing thoughtfully on her pancake. She’d been tuning the two of them out, because the sound of her own thoughts were so loud.

“Mulder said he’s free for the rest of the day, and that we can shoot hoops at the park near his apartment. So can I go?” The look on her face is pure joy, and her resolve breaks. “Yeah, sure.” She looks at Mulder, “Can you have her back, by three though, my brother and sister will be at my moms for dinner. It’s like a Thanksgiving Eve tradition.”

He smiles, shocked she’d even said yes. “Three it is.”

Emily grins. “You’re the best, mom.”

“Sure, you say that now, Em,” she teases, and takes another bite of pancake.

Five free hours to herself is quite the luxury. She manages to even get some grocery shopping done and pick up a few presents for Emily’s birthday. It’s odd, not having her, but she figures this little test is good to see what she’s comfortable with in regards to having Mulder around.

He shows up at her mothers house fifteen minutes early. Of course he’d be early, she thinks opening the door for them. “Hi Mom, guess what? I beat dad in a game of one on one and he even let me go on his shoulders to make a basket. He’s really tall.”

“He is,” she agrees, noticing a shift in his demeanor when she’d called him dad. He was after all her father. She’s about to say thank you, and see you soon, when her mother walks into the hallway. She stops as soon as she sees him with his hand on Emily’s shoulders. A flash of recognition goes through her as she puts two and two together.

Emily was his.

Their eyes were exactly the same.

“Hi Miss Scully.”

“Hi Fox,” she greets, finding her voice and then looks at her daughter pointedly. It’s the look, and she knows she knows. “Won’t you come in? I can get you a coffee?”

“No thank you,” he declines. “I really should be going.”

Emily turns to look at him. “You’re coming to Thanksgiving though tomorrow right?”

“That’s up to your mom,” he says.

“Your invitation still stands, Fox,” her mother says, “your more than welcome to come.”

“Yes, Mulder it’s fine with me.”

“Cool,” Emily exclaims, and rushes past them to find her uncles.

“I wish I had half her energy, Scully.”

“You and me both,” she says, “she behaved?”

“Of course,” he says, “she’s a good little athlete.”

“That’s something she gets from you. Sports are not my thing.”

He laughs, and gives her a warm smile. “Thank you for letting me take her.”

“You’re welcome.”

It means more to either of them, and she can’t help but stare at him. “Scully, want to go take a walk?”

She raises and eyebrow, and agrees. “Sure, lets go. I’ll grab my jacket and meet you outside.”

“Okay,” he agrees.

She finds her coat in the hallway, just as her mother approaches. “He’s Emily’s father, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.” Her mother never asked, and so she didn’t tell. She’s sure she had her suspicions, but confirmation of seeing them together was enough proof.

“I should have put it together, but I had no idea you were involved…”

“It was complicated, mom.” Still is actually, she thinks, wearily.

“Complicated or not, the way he looked at you, Dana, that’s love.”

She slips her coat over her shoulders and doesn’t reply. He’s waiting for her.

She finds him on the porch swing, staring out at the neighborhood. “Hey,” she says, slipping her hands in her pockets. “Come sit for a minute,” he says, patting the empty bench next to him. “I thought this was a walk,” she quips, taking a seat next to him. They’re barely touching but she can feel the electricity cackle between them. A silence settles between them, but this time it isn’t uncomfortable.

He speaks first. “I requested a transfer to San Diego.”

She snaps her head to look at him. “This morning, before Breakfast. I had to.”

“You’re going to move to San Diego?”

Well so much for a leap of faith, he’d just head first dove off it. “Yes, I want to be involved, Scully. She’s mine too.”

“I know that, and I want you to be there too, but being there isn’t all basketball ball games, being a parent is hard. It can really fucking suck. Like let me give you an example, when Emily was three, she had severe pneumonia. She was barely breathing when I got her to the Emergency room. She would have died if I hadn’t taken her to the hospital. Or the time when she was two and screamed and screamed in the middle of the supermarket because I wouldn’t give her goldfish. Or the time she told me she hated me because I wouldn’t let her rewatch the Lion King. I love her, don’t get me wrong, but it’s hard. It’s exhausting and my heart literally beats out of my body every day worrying about her.” She hadn’t realized she was crying, as his thumb wipes a tear out of the corner of her eye.

“Were you ready?” He asks, not answering her question.

“God no, Murder. No one is ready. Ever… but what I can say is that you figure it out. Being a parent is the best and worst feeling ever.”

“I can tell you, with absolute certainty, that i would like to try. I’m in, okay, in whatever capacity and it can be completely on your terms. Whatever your comfortable with.” He pauses, “To be honest, I never saw myself having kids or being a father mine wasn’t the best example, but being with her… it’s like something clicked for me, and all I wanted to do was protect her. To keep her safe…but I also thought about you, and how much I loved you. How much I still do.”

He’s quiet, bracing for her reaction. It could go either way. “You love me?”

“Dana, I never stopped, as much as I tried. The past six years have given me closure. I’ve solved the mystery of my sister, and now, the work has lost its purpose. Besides, being alone isn’t fun, and randomly being paired up with agents is exhausting. I need something new anyway, but since you decided to come back like a hurricane, I’ve been doing some thinking.”

“You have? Who are you and what have you done with my Murder,” she teases.

“I had to grow up sometime, Scully.”

“For the record, Fox,” she began purposely using his first name. “I still love you too.”

He takes her hand in his, and takes a long look at her. She leans in feeling the familiar sensation of his lips on hers. It’s gentle, at first, and exploratory as they get reacquainted with one another. Kissing him is something, she could do forever. Before they get any further, they’re busted by Emily. The jump apart, looking uncomfortable. “Where you just kissing?” She asks, furrowing her brow. The expression on her face of incredulity is all her. “We were,” he says, with a grin on his face. “Is that okay?”

She folds her arms and looks at her mother. “So, boys really don’t have cooties?”

“Scully!” He admonishes grinning. “You told her that?”

“Your dad does not have cooties, Emily.”

“Okay, well, Grandma said dad should stay for dinner.”

Of course her mother did. He looks at Scully who nods in confirmation. “Tell her yes, Em.”

“Okay, continue to do whatever it was that you were doing…” she adds before heading back inside.

“I think she gave us permission to make out, Scully.”

“I think so too,” she laughs, before his lips crash against hers. This time his intent was anything but gentle and it felt incredible. They had nothing figured out, but in the moment, it didn’t matter they had each other.


End file.
